Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Stockbarger Records Top Finish In Discus In School History; Smith Advances To 400m Final At NCAA Cha
Friday, June 8, 2007 | Men's Track and Field
Junior Wes Stockbarger (Port Charlotte, Fla.) posted the highest finish in school history in the discus by taking third to lead the University of Florida men's track and field team on the third day of competition on Friday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.
Through 13 of 21 scored events, Florida State leads the race for the men's title with 34 points. Florida is tied for 27th with six points.
Stockbarger moved up from fifth place to third on his fifth attempt with a mark of 60.81m/199-6 in becoming just the third athlete in school history to earn multiple All-America honors in the discus. Freshman Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) clocked the fifth-fastest time in the semifinals of the 400m (45.72) to advance to finals on Saturday.
“It's hard to complain after what Wes and Calvin did today,” Florida men's coach Mike Holloway said. “Wes finished third at the biggest meet of his life. I know he would have liked to have thrown further, but he did a great job. Calvin put himself in a position to earn All-America honors and I'm very proud of him. We've got Calvin in the 400m and the 4x400m relay tomorrow and we have to come out here and believe we belong. If we do that, then we'll be successful.”
Stockbarger, who entered the meet ranked No. 7 in the nation, posted a mark of 60.81m/199-6 on his fifth attempt to secure a third-place finish in the discus – the best performance by a Gator in school history in the event. BYU's Niklas Arrhenius won the event (62.84m/206-2) with Stanford's Michael Robertson second (62.08m/203-8). Stockbarger posted a mark of 60.37m/198-1 on his opening attempt, which was second through the first round. Stockbarger fouled on his next two attempts and fell to third entering finals. After a foul on his fourth attempt, he dropped to fifth before posting his toss of 60.81m/199-6 to move back into third. On his final throw, Stockbarger appeared to approach his previous throw, but the attempt was ruled as a foul.
In taking third, Stockbarger picked up the third All-America honor of his career and joined John Morton (1967-68) and Ryan McIntyre (2002, 2004) as the only athletes in Florida history to earn multiple All-America honors in the discus.
Smith clocked a time of 45.72 to take fourth in his heat with the fifth-fastest overall time of the day. He was in fourth entering the final 100m before closing well and just barely taking fourth in his heat with Columbia's Erison Hurtault capturing third in 45.71. Smith will compete in Saturday's 1:37 p.m. (ET) final looking to earn ninth outdoor All-America honor in 400m in school history. He could become second freshman in Florida history to earn 400m All-America honors indoors and outdoors (Tyrone Kemp – 1989).
In addition to Smith in the 400m, Florida will also have an opportunity to score points in the 4x400m relay. On Thursday, the Gators clocked the eighth-fastest time and a season-best mark (3:04.92) to advance to Saturday's 2:36 p.m. (ET) final.
The NCAA Championships conclude on Saturday. The event will be carried live by CBS from 1-3 p.m. (ET). Live results can be found at www.ncaasports.com.
Men's Team Scoring (though 13 events):
1. Florida State 34; 2. Auburn 32; 3. LSU 28; 4. Wisconsin 22; 5. Arizona 18; 5. Mississippi 18; 7. Tennessee 15; 7. Kansas State 15; 7. Kansas 15; 10. Louisville 14; T27. Florida 6.
Men's All-Americans (1 athlete, 1 event):
Wes Stockbarger - Discus
Men's Athletes Advancing (5 athletes, 2 events):
Calvin Smith – 400m Final
Carlos Phillips, Calvin Smith, Bernard Middleton, Eric Alberter – 4x400m Final
